CAN THE POLICE STILL KEEP US SAFE?
As watchdog sounds the alarm over cuts and rising crime...
POLICE forces are now ‘struggling’ to keep the public safe following funding cuts and an upsurge in crime.
Chief constables are finding it ‘increasingly difficult’ to deliver an effective day-to- day service, according to Britain’s spending watchdog, a damning report warns today.
The National Audit Office said spiralling rates of ‘high harm’ crime such as sex attacks, gun and knife offences, were increasing the pressure on resources.
It said that police chiefs had sought to balance the books by reducing the number of bobbies on the beat – leaving forces overstretched.
The NAO said the proportion of crimes ending in a charge had fallen, arrest rates were down and fewer penalties had been issued for motoring offences. It is likely to re-ignite the row over whether police are being given enough cash – and over whether officers have got their priorities right.
The 48-page report comes amid mounting concern over violent crime in ‘Wild West Britain’ highlighted by the Daily Mail. It found:
In the year to March, a suspect was charged in just 9 per cent of reported crimes – down from 15 per cent three years ago.
The arrest rate slumped from 17 per 1,000 population in 201415 to 14 per 1,000 in 2016-17.
Since 2010, there have been fewer breathalyser tests, motoring fixed penalties and convictions for drug trafficking and possession – meaning offenders are getting away with crimes.
Since 2010-11, police funding has fallen 19 per cent in real terms to £12.3billion this year.
The NAO carried out a wideranging review of the financial sustainability of the 43 forces in England and Wales.
In a withering conclusion, it said the Home Office did ‘ not have a clear picture’ of what budgets individual forces needed – or even whether the police system was financially sustainable.
Police chiefs have warned that forces are struggling to cope following deep cuts to funding. The NAO said forces had tried to cope by cutting staff.
The total workforce has plunged 18 per cent from a peak of 244,497 in March 2010 to 199,752 this year. Over the same period, officer numbers are down from 143,700 to 122,400, a drop of around 15 per cent.
The report will prove embarrassing reading for Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who will give a keynote speech today to the Police Superintendents’ Association conference in Leicester.
He has pledged to prioritise police in the next spending review. He will say that, including funds raised through council tax, over £1billion more is being invested in policing now than three years ago. But he was expected to vow to ‘stand with, support and listen to’ chiefs.
The NAO report will shine the spotlight on the police at a time they are coming under fire for failing to attend many crimes. In some instances, victims can expect little or no investigation – meaning thousands of criminals can act with impunity.
The NAO said the funding formula used by the Home Office to distribute cash to forces had been ‘ineffective and detached from the changing nature of policing for too long’. Sir Amyas Morse, head of the watchdog, said: ‘There are signs that forces are struggling to deliver effective services to the public.’
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We remain committed to working closely with police and delivered a £ 460million increase in overall police funding in 2018-19.’
‘Ineffective and detached’